


Flash of Color

by Splashy



Series: Flash of Color (Heathers soulmate au) [2]
Category: Heathers (1988), Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Rewritten work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:40:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24412198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Splashy/pseuds/Splashy
Summary: But now, her soulmate is here, staring up at her, the shock still on her face.Her.Her soulmate’s agirl.How...she couldn’t...she’s not—“Holy shit,” she breathed.
Relationships: Heather Chandler/Veronica Sawyer, Heather Duke/Heather McNamara
Series: Flash of Color (Heathers soulmate au) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1762924
Comments: 13
Kudos: 142





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I never thought I'd do more with this fanfic, but I recently got a burst of inspiration to finish the rewrite for it I started back in October. 
> 
> I can't guarantee updates will be regular, though it hopefully shouldn't be too long before at least all 3 chapters in total have been rewritten and published. After that, updates will, honestly, likely be a little sparse. But fear not! I have no intention of abandoning this fic. It _will_ be finished.
> 
> Want to see the old version of this and my horrible writing? Check it out [here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11551311/chapters/25941732)

There were three Heathers in the bathroom as the bell rang.

There was Heather McNamara, dressed in a yellow that seemed to brighten any room she entered, stood in front of the mirror. 

The next Heather, Heather Duke, was behind the others in one of the stalls, bent over a toilet. She winced every time the urge to heave came up, but she was powerless to stop it.

“Maybe you should see a doctor, Heather,” McNamara’s concerned voice rang out as she turned back to the girl clad in green.

“Yeah Heather, maybe I should,” she spoke up. While the words may have seemed genuine, it was clear from her tone they were anything but; Duke had no intention to go to the doctor.

“Grow up, Heather. Bulimia is _so_ last year.”

And so we get to the final Heather (and arguably the most important). Heather Chandler. The demon queen. The mythic bitch. Whatever title one preferred to call her by. She practically owned the school and had everyone wrapped around her finger.

“Ah, Heather and Heather.”

Well, almost everyone.

Chandler and McNamara turned to see Ms. Fleming in the doorway, watching the two with a smug look, her arms crossed over her chest. The look falters slightly at the sound of retching coming from the stall Duke’s in, but it comes back after a moment. “And Heather. Perhaps you didn’t hear the bell over all the vomiting? You’re late for class.” 

Ms. Fleming always angered Chandler. She is the _demon queen_ of this wretched school. Who was Ms. Fleming to say what she could and couldn’t do? Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the teacher, formulating a response that would hopefully get her off her ass.

“Heather wasn’t feeling well. We’re helping her.” Her voice was cool and smooth, the words rolling off her tongue easily. She plastered a fake smile on her face, eyes glaring daggers at the teacher.

Ms. Fleming, of course, didn’t notice. She still had that infuriating look, as if she had won and she knew it. Chandler, however, would admit no such thing. “Not without a hall pass you’re not. Week’s detention.” Chandler grit her teeth as she tried to come up with a retort. She opened her mouth to speak, but an unfamiliar voice cut her off.

“Um, actually, Ms. Fleming, all four of us are out on a hall pass. Yearbook committee.” She turned to see who had spoken and saw a girl holding out a note to Ms. Fleming. She found herself narrowing her eyes as she took in the looks of the girl.

She didn’t know what color she wore - she wouldn’t until she touched her soulmate - but just judging from the clothes themselves, this girl...Well, she had a lot that could be improved. Who wore a _scarf indoors?_ And who was this girl, thinking she can just waltz in and save them from detention? If her little tactic even worked anyway. 

Ms. Fleming hesitatingly took the note from her and read over it. “I see you’re all listed…” Her frown was perhaps the best sight to Chandler’s eyes. “Hurry up and get where you’re going.” She returned the note before turning and leaving, but not without heaving a sigh beforehand.

Chandler would have grinned at the sight but her gaze was now focused on something more important. She stared at the girl who now looked nervously up at her. 

She took a couple of steps forward and snatched the note out of her hand. Their fingers touched briefly, but the reaction was instantaneous.

Light flooded their eyes. Chandler and the girl both cried out, stumbling away from each other and closing their eyes. Veronica held onto the wall while McNamara helped Chandler stay standing.

The yellow Heather almost looked as though she held the stars in her eyes. She turned to Duke, a grin lighting up her face as if she knew exactly what was happening. And it was likely that she did. Duke looked less than impressed, eyeing the girl in blue.

For that was the color she was wearing, Chandler thought as she opened her eyes, though she didn’t know the name of it. It was hard to study the colors when you couldn’t see what they were.

Chandler turned to McNamara, blinking against the brightness of her clothing. She was still grinning, her smile still lighting up the room. Duke also hadn’t changed much, aside from now being colorful in Chandler’s eyes. Her color wasn’t nearly as bright as McNamara’s.

She turned back to the girl from before, who looked at her in shock as if she had trouble processing what had just happened.

Chandler could relate. She’s not sure how to feel about this.

For years, she’d go with multiple guys. From the biggest college party to the smaller ones - that still held a ton of people - she hosted in her own house, she’d let multiple guys have their way with her. Touching her, touching him, _hoping_ that she’d meet her soulmate.

But it never happened. She’d leave, disappointed, and try again at some other party, with some other guy.

But now, her soulmate is here, staring up at her, the shock still on her face. _Her._ Her soulmate’s a _girl._ How...she couldn’t...she’s not—

“Holy shit,” she breathed.

Her parents were going to kill her. She’d be crucified by the whole school.

The girl - she didn’t even know her _name_ \- was now trembling slightly before her, as if realizing just what she may have gotten herself into.

Chandler stared down at her for a moment. “Who are you?”

“Uh, Sawyer, Veronica Sawyer.” She opened her mouth, as if to say more, but closed it instead.

“Alright, Veronica, if you’re going to be my...my...you know, well, you can’t be dressed like _that._ ” 

Veronica looks down at her clothing, frowning a little.

Chandler narrows her eyes slightly, looking Veronica up and down. “You know..,” she begins, taking a step forward and lifting her chin with a single finger. “This could be beautiful. Some mascara, some lip gloss, and we could be on our way.” She could feel Veronica swallowing and smirked a little. “Get this girl some blush, and Heather I need your brush.” McNamara handed the brush to her as she lifted her free hand out. “Let’s make her beautiful.”

She still didn’t know how she was going to deal with having another girl as her soulmate, but she’d worry about that later.

Veronica looked between the three of them nervously as they all seemed to tower over her. So much had changed in only a short amount of time. She had gone from being a nobody to being the soulmate of _Heather Chandler._ She hadn’t even known Heather didn’t know who her soulmate was! 

Before she can say anything, Chandler speaks up again. “Okay?”

“Okay!”

What more could she say? She clearly didn’t have a choice.

\---

After school, Veronica found herself at Heather Chandler’s house. The rest of the day after they touched had been...awkward, to say the least. The Heathers couldn’t allow her to hang out with them until they had properly “made her beautiful” and while they were quite pleased to simply skip school and do just that, Veronica hadn’t felt the same. She insisted that they wait and so they grudgingly did.

Every so often, Veronica would catch Heather’s eyes. Their eyes would meet and while Heather was never the first to look away, she always seemed to be thinking about something, chewing on her bottom lip.

Veronica would look away, and the two would go on their way. Until Heather confronted her after school had ended and told her they were going to her house so they could make her look beautiful.

Veronica was, to say the least, nervous as hell.

She sat in one of the chairs in front of Heather’s vanity as the girl clad in red got the makeup ready. She looked around the room, noting how red it looked.

“How’d you know the color of the room if you couldn’t see it? Was it just a lucky guess?” She turned to face Heather.

There was silence for a moment as Heather got ready. 

“Heather and Heather,” she finally said, not looking at Veronica. “They’ve already met their soulmates,” her voice was curt, the words spoken sharply. If Veronica was smart, she would know not to press any further.

Veronica frowned a little, and while she wanted to press further, she was indeed smart enough not to do so. Heather Chandler may be her soulmate, but that did not mean she wanted to incur the wrath of the demon queen. 

Heather appeared then, hands full of makeup. Veronica opened her mouth as if to say something, but Heather did before she could. “Stop talking. It’s harder to apply makeup if you’re speaking.”

Her tone of voice left no room for arguments, so Veronica did as she was told, her mouth closed with a snap. 

“Good,” Heather grinned. She kneeled down in front of Veronica and, try as she might, Veronica could not help the slight blush from creeping up at their sudden close proximity. She never imagined she’d be this close to Heather Chandler. She could still hardly believe they were _soulmates._

Heather started to apply the makeup but it wasn’t long before she pulled the brush back and huffed. Veronica looked at her in confusion, though she was still blushing.

“I can see you blushing, y’know.” She never really imagined it would be so red. Veronica seemed to flush even more at that.

“S-sorry, I…” She stopped and squinted at Heather. “So are you.”

“What—I am _not!_ ”

“Yes, you are!” Veronica lifted a finger and poked at the red blush that had settled on Heather’s cheeks. She only had a second to admire how soft the skin was under her finger and...were those _freckles?_ before her hand was smacked away.

“Veronica.”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

Veronica couldn’t stop the chuckle as it slipped past her lips and Heather found herself slightly distracted by the sound. She quickly shook her head though and went back to work in applying the makeup.

Veronica wasn’t sure what to look at. Does she look at Heather, at her eyes narrowed in focus, eyebrows furrowed, and tongue poking out of red lips? (Duke had shoved a color book at her before one of her classes). 

Should she look anywhere _but_ at Heather? That was a little hard, as she took up most of her field of vision. Should she close her eyes, or would that just be weird? She eventually settled on just looking at her face, taking it all in.

Her eyebrows were still furrowed, and waves of strawberry blonde hair fell over her face. Her gray eyes poked out between them, and with a huff, Heather pushed her hair back before going back to applying the makeup. It felt cool against her skin. 

Heather’s tongue was sticking out slightly, and she found herself drawn to it. Her lips had been painted a bright red, and the pink of her tongue contrasted slightly against it. She continued staring at them, mostly lost in thought, until she heard Heather sigh and pull away. The movement caused her to blink and look up at Heather.

“Honestly, Veronica, do you need to stare at my lips like you’re trying to memorize them?” She raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. 

“Shit, uh, sorry. I was just...looking at your lipstick.” 

“...my lipstick.”

“Yeah. And just at how, y’know, how…red it is,” Veronica stumbled over her words a little.

Heather hummed slightly, still staring at Veronica with her eyebrow raised. A couple of moments passed before Heather sighed. “I never really expected red to be so...bright. And I know there’s different shades of red, but…”

“It looks good.” Heather blinked. Veronica flushed even further. “It uh, looks good on you. Red suits you.”

Another moment of silence passed. “Well.” A brief pause. “I’m glad it does since it’s a color I’ve dedicated my entire life to.” She smiled, just barely, and Veronica found herself smiling back.

“Anyway,” Heather continued, “I just need to apply your lipstick. Sit still.” Veronica did as she was told as Heather uncapped the tube and leaned in close, fingers deftly applying the makeup. Veronica almost trembled at how close Heather was but managed to keep it in.

When Heather had finished and leaned back, even just slightly, Veronica could barely stop the breath of relief that escaped her. 

But then she didn’t pull any further away. She ran her tongue along her lips, lost in thought, but Veronica found herself drawn to it.

Were they...leaning in? She couldn’t tell, but she was powerless to stop it. She could feel Heather’s breath against her lips, the slightest brush…

“Heather, I got the outfit!”

Both Heather and Veronica jerked away from each other, both blushing heavily. Chandler turned to see McNamara smiling at them, not even bothering to hold back her chuckle. 

“Sorry, did I interrupt anything?” McNamara was now grinning at them, a shit-eating grin that Chandler most certainly did not like.

“ _No,_ I was just...finishing up her makeup.”

“What, so you can ruin it later?” McNamara laughed again. Chandler frowned, just slightly, but it was enough for Veronica to notice. Chandler quickly stepped away from Veronica, brushing invisible dirt off her outfit. She strode over to McNamara and quickly took the outfit from her. “You know,” McNamara whispered into her ear, “you can kiss her. She _is_ your soulmate, even if you only found that out today.” 

Chandler didn’t say anything, and she was saved from having to as Duke stepped in. The other two Heathers had gone shopping to find clothes for Veronica. Chandler would have gone with them, but she wanted to stay behind and help Veronica with her makeup.

Plus, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go somewhere that had that many colors. School was hard enough for her, and she can still feel a bit of a headache coming on. The feeling started from the moment she saw color and had yet to go away.

Chandler grabbed the outfit and turned back to Veronica, who looked a little dazed. But when she realized Chandler was looking at her, she quickly straightened up. Heather took the few steps over to her and held the outfit out.

“Here. The bathroom’s right down the hall, you can change in there.” Veronica took the outfit from her, looking at Chandler. The red Heather seemed to be refusing to look at her, and Veronica wondered if she had already fucked up.

“Y’know, she could just change in here, it’s not like it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before,” Duke spoke up from where she stood near the door. Chandler glared at her.

“She could also change in the bathroom, which is what she’s going to do. Go on, it’s just a couple of doors down, you can’t miss it.” Finally, Chandler looked at Veronica, though it was only to give her a slight nudge out the door. 

Veronica did as she was told, quickly changing in the bathroom and hoping she wouldn’t return to the Heathers all trying to rip each other’s throats out. She stepped in, slowly, only to see Chandler pacing the floor and McNamara and Duke both watching her.

McNamara was the first to notice Veronica’s return. She turned and grinned at her. “Veronica, you look great!”

Chandler’s head whipped around to see Veronica. The sight made her mouth go dry - Veronica looked _much_ better than before, with her hair brushed, makeup applied flawlessly, in her blue blazer and gray skirt. 

Blue was definitely Veronica’s color.

“Definitely much better than before. Right, Heather?”

Chandler swallowed. “Right.” She coughed. “A lot better. You look beautiful.”

Veronica grinned at her, and Chandler felt her heart skip a beat. She was quick to look away, but she already knew that she was starting to blush. She could hear McNamara giggling.

After she had a chance to compose herself, she turned back to Veronica. “Alright. We’ve got a few other outfits for you, similar to this one. You are to wear these from now on. You are to wear makeup. I can help you the first few days if you wish, but it’s best if you figure it out yourself.

“As a Heather, you’re going to need to—”

“Wait, so, I’m a Heather now?” Veronica’s eyes shot up in surprise and Chandler let out a huff.

“Obviously. If you’re going to be my soulmate you have to look the part. No soulmate of mine is going to look like a greasy little nobody. You’re a Heather now, so you have to act like it and you gotta look it. Got it?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess…”

“Good. Now, some ground rules…”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chandler struggles a little, the Heathers + Veronica go on a date, and Veronica spends some time at Chandler's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok 1) this chapter ended up way longer than I had anticipated and 2) I'm having a lot of fun with this fic.
> 
> Version #1 of this chapter had been...honestly mostly filler but I've added some more...substantial things to it. Anyway, I hope you guys like it!

A couple of days had passed since Heather and Veronica had touched, and neither of them were really sure how to deal with it.

Veronica would try to help Heather process it as best she could, mainly just needing to deal with _Heather Chandler_ as her soulmate, but it seemed Heather had an even harder time. Veronica at least knew that she wouldn’t mind if her soulmate ended up being a boy or a girl, but Heather had dedicated her entire life around the idea of having her soulmate be a rich man she could have children with. Or, at the very least, that was what her parents had wanted for her.

But now that she was faced with something entirely different, she wasn’t sure what to do. Her parents certainly couldn’t know. No one except for the four of them could. She could lose her entire standing as the Queen of Westerberg if anyone else found out. 

So not only did neither of them know how to deal with this, but they weren’t even given many chances to. 

It was on a Saturday that Chandler found herself pacing the floor of her room. There had been a party at Ram’s house the night before, and after everyone had gone home, Heather found herself struggling to get to sleep that night, even if she was tired. 

Eventually, she was able to drift off. And when she woke up this morning, she was both exhausted and hungover.

Some time had passed, and while her head didn’t feel like it was splitting open anymore, her thoughts had started to race.

Last night, she had been able to avoid thinking about Veronica. She hadn’t gone to the party with them, coming up with some excuse of promising to spend the Friday with Martha Dumptruck. Dunnstock. Whatever.

Heather had been able to drink, to forget about her. And it had been nice. While it lasted, anyway. It hadn’t taken long before she’d start thinking about soulmates. And her soulmate in particular.

Normally, she’d try to touch as many as she could. She’d go into a room with a guy she had just met, let him have his way with her, then move on.

But this time, she couldn’t stand the feeling of people touching her. And while she’d had a few days to get used to seeing color, she still wasn’t entirely used to it. She wasn’t sure when she would be. How had Heather and Heather handled this? Both with...finding out their soulmate was the same gender and with the sudden explosion of color?

She paused, her eyes straying to her phone. She weighed her options. She wasn’t sure she really wanted to talk about...this...with anyone, but it also felt like it was eating her up alive. She groaned.

“Heather?” McNamara’s voice on the other side of the line was enough to calm her down a bit, though not by much.

“Are you busy?” Chandler nearly barked out, not even bothering to give a greeting.

 _“Uh. No, not really. Heather’s over, though..,”_ her voice trailed off. Chandler sighed.

“Well, stop fucking. I need to talk to you.” Her foot tapped impatiently against the carpet in her room.

 _”Who is it?”_ a faint voice caught Chandler’s attention. She rolled her eyes.

 _”It’s Heather, she says she wants to talk to us,”_ McNamara answered Duke.

 _”Does she have to do it_ now?” Duke groaned.

“ _Yes._ It can’t wait.” Heather went back to pacing, wishing she could just calm her thoughts for once.

 _”Okay, then...see you in a bit?”_ McNamara asked.

“Yeah.” Chandler hung up before getting ready to go to Mac’s house. It didn’t take her long and soon she was driving, much higher than the speed limit, to her house.

She was quick to knock on the door, perhaps a bit more insistently than she needed to, but who was to say what she should do anyway? She only had to wait a few seconds for the door to open, Mac motioning for her to come in.

She did just that, striding in as if she owned the place. McNamara closed the door behind her and the two headed upstairs to her room, where she said Duke currently was.

During the walk - McNamara’s house was _huge,_ though so was Chandler’s - she mulled over what she was going to say, over how to describe her feelings. She almost groaned as she realized how impossible that was. She was beginning to regret her decision to turn to the other Heathers.

They entered the room and saw an annoyed-looking Duke. She glared at Chandler who just glared back, though it didn’t seem to have as much sting as it normally would.

“I don’t know why this couldn’t have waited,” Duke scowled.

“Shut up, Heather.”

“Sorry, Heather…” She looked down, hunching into herself just a little.

McNamara led Chandler to the bed, trying to get her to sit. It lasted for a minute before Chandler started pacing. McNamara and Duke shared a look.

“So, Heather, what is this about?” McNamara spoke up, watching as Chandler walked from one end of the room before spinning around and starting to go the other way.

Chandler made a few more rounds before she reluctantly spoke up. “...Veronica.”

McNamara sat up a little at that. “How is she? Is she doing okay?”

“She’s...good.”

“How’s she handling being your soulmate?”

“She’s…handling it well.” She paused, just for a moment, before groaning and continuing. “She’s handling it _perfectly._ I don’t know how she does it! How is she just...so okay with all of this?” She ran her hand through her hair, barely fighting back another groan.

Duke turned to McNamara with a raised eyebrow before sighing. “And...you aren’t?”

“Does it look like I am?!” Chandler rounded on Duke, eyes narrowed. Duke recoiled slightly but just rolled her eyes.

“Right. My mistake.”

McNamara set a hand on Chandler’s arm. When she spoke, her voice was soft and gentle. “Sit down, Heather.” Chandler let out a sigh and did just that, practically collapsing onto it and burying her face into her hands.

She hated this. She hated all of this. Not knowing how to deal with Veronica being her soulmate, freaking out, and showing such _weakness_ to Heather and Heather. But she didn’t know what else she could do. She had to talk to someone, and she’d rather die than talk to Veronica about all of this.

Though she probably should at some point. But for now, she pushed that thought to the back of her mind and focused on McNamara.

“We’re here for you, Heather. We’re here to listen to you. Anything you want to say, just say it.” McNamara stroked her hand along Chandler’s back in hopes that it would help calm her. It did work, even if only a little bit.

Chandler took a deep breath. “How...How did you…” She faltered, just slightly, but noticeable enough. “How did you just...become so okay with having your soulmate be the same gender?”

There was silence for a moment as the other two Heathers looked at each other and tried to come up with something to say. After a moment, Duke sighed.

“It wasn’t easy, I’ll tell ya that. But also, we’d known each other for some time before we actually touched. Granted, it was only about a week, but this is the first time you’ve ever noticed Veronica, isn’t it? You met her and realized she’s your soulmate all at once. Mac and I had at least some time to get to know each other.”

Chandler grunted into her hands, having put them back over her face. There was a brief moment of silence before Chandler spoke up. “I see now why people tend to avoid touching others until they actually know them.”

McNamara giggled. “It does tend to make things easier, yes.”

The three of them stayed silent after that. Chandler thought about saying more, but she was already showing enough weakness to the others. It was getting exhausting. She was grateful she had turned to them, though.

“Why did you touch so many guys, anyway? Why did you wanna know so badly who your soulmate is?” Duke spoke up.

Chandler took a while to respond. She knew why, but she also knew she didn’t really want to tell them. She raised a shoulder and dropped it in a half-ass shrug, not wanting to put more effort into it. She was still so tired from the night before and how little sleep she got.

“I just...wanted to know who my soulmate is,” was the answer she eventually gave. It wasn’t wrong, but there was so much more to it. So much more she did _not_ want to get into. Not now or ever. Duke grunted but said nothing more.

Another moment’s silence was broken as McNamara gasped. Chandler and Duke both turned to her, questioning looks on their face.

“What’s your damage, Heather?”

“We should go on a double date!” McNamara seemed so excited, Chandler almost agreed right away. But there was something holding her back.

“I don’t know..,” her voice trailed off.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun! It can help you get to know Veronica better, and it won’t be completely awkward with just you two! Duke and I will be there too!” McNamara wrapped her arm around Duke who begrudgingly nodded, wrapping her arm around McNamara.

“Yeah. Though it _would_ be entertaining to see just how awkward that could get…” Duke grinned.

“Shut up, Heather,” Chandler grumbled. The grin dropped from Duke’s face, though the response hadn’t been as sharp as it normally was.

“So, what do you say? It’ll be fun!”

Chandler thought about refusing, but she did want to know more about Veronica. Maybe that would make this a little easier? She sighed, finally coming to a decision.

“Oh, alright. Let me text her though, make sure it’s okay with her.” Chandler pulled out her phone then, before she could think about it too much, asked if she’d be okay with going on a double date with McNamara and Duke. She only had to wait a couple of minutes before she got a response.

_Sure._

She scowled down at it before turning to McNamara. “She said yes.”

McNamara squealed, looking absolutely delighted. “Oh, wonderful! This is going to be so much fun!”

Chandler glanced at Duke who seemed about as thrilled as she did, and wondered just how she was going to survive this.

\---

Veronica found herself once more in Chandler’s room. Only this time, they were getting ready for something much scarier than becoming a part of the most loved and most hated group in the entire school: a date. 

Heather had hardly said anything since Veronica got there, and she was hesitant on whether she should say anything. She was both nervous and excited for this double date. As soon as she found out that McNamara and Duke were soulmates, she had been expecting for this to happen. 

Veronica watched as Heather got the last of her makeup on before standing swiftly and walking over to her. She hesitated for a second, almost unnoticeable, before taking Veronica’s hand and practically pulled her downstairs.

“Come on, we’re going to be late! Heather and Heather are already there.”

“I’m sure they won’t mind if we’re late by a few minutes,” Veronica tried to reason with her.

Heather paused at the door and turned to look at Veronica with a brow raised. Veronica swallowed.

“Perhaps not, but who knows what they’ll think if we’re a few minutes late.” She glared pointedly at Veronica until she seemed to get it.

“Oh.”

“Mmhm. Now, come _on!_ ” Heather opened the door and pulled her outside before hurriedly dropping her hand as she walked to her car, opening it.

Veronica got in the front and got herself as comfortable as she could in such plush seats. She was hesitant to even sit there, paranoid she’d somehow ruin it just by sitting there. Heather quickly started the car and tore down the road. Veronica was quick to hold onto the seats as they went way over the speed limit.

“Heather, I know you’re in a hurry, but is it necessary to go so quickly? I’d rather not die only a few days after meeting my soulmate.” Veronica glanced outside as everything passed by in a blur before turning her attention to Heather, who sighed heavily but slowed the car to a slightly more normal pace. “Thank you.”

Chandler blinked, seemingly a little started, but she just grunted in response, hands tightening around the wheel slightly.

The rest of the ride was silent. When they finally arrived, Veronica felt as though she should say something. She didn’t know what, though, so she remained silent as Chandler parked the car and the two got out.

Veronica looked at the restaurant they had stopped outside and felt horribly unprepared for this. It looked fancy as fuck and no doubt the Heathers would know how to act in it while she just felt like a fish out of water. She swallowed.

Chandler turned to her, an eyebrow raised, before scoffing and rolling her eyes. 

She grabbed Veronica’s hand, definitely not thinking about how soft it felt in her own, and headed inside, a reluctant Veronica left with no choice but to follow her.

The interior looked even fancier than the exterior. She felt _really_ out of place. As soon as they stepped through the doors, Chandler was looking for McNamara’s blonde hair and Duke’s black hair. The sight of a hand waving caught her attention, and Veronica pointed to where the other two Heathers sat, Mac waving at them with a bright grin.

“Took you two long enough to get here,” they heard Duke scoff, eyeing the two of them. “Busy?” Her expression morphed into a grin.

“Shut up, Heather,” Chandler snapped without a moment’s hesitation. Duke’s grin fell and her eyes dropped to the menu in her hands. Veronica and Chandler sat in the seats across from McNamara and Duke.

While the Heathers looked at the menu, Veronica looked around. The restaurant had white pillars placed strategically with designs carved in them. The chairs were all black and the walls were a patterned yellow which only seemed to bring a whole new level to the atmosphere of the area.

She tore her gaze away from the flooring and to the menu. She was almost afraid to even look at the prices so she didn’t, safe in the knowledge that Chandler was going to pay for her. 

Now there was just the matter of deciding _what_ she was going to eat. There were so many options she had never heard of, so when she found her favorite dish, she could have wept in joy. 

Their waiter came not long after, and after the Heathers ordered, Veronica asked for the spaghetti. She heard Chandler scoff but nobody said anything.

After the waiter walked away, an awkward silence fell over the four. Veronica took to fidgeting with the silverware while McNamara and Duke shared a glance. Another moment passed before Duke groaned.

“I knew this was going to be awkward as fuck.” She buried her face in her hands.

“It’s just started, c’mon—”

“No, Mac, look at them. They aren’t even looking at each other! Have they said a single word to each other since they got here? This is going to be a disaster.” Her face remained in her hands as Mac tutted softly. 

She took Duke’s hands and held them apart, peeking at her face within. Mac grinned and leaned in quickly to kiss Duke’s nose. She scrunched her nose but couldn’t help but to smile at Mac.

Veronica looked away, unsure if she should even be watching the two interact like this. It was so different from how they’d act at Westerberg, where everyone knew them.

But here, at a restaurant over an hour away from the city? Nobody knew them. Nobody knew they’re the queen bees of their high school, forced to do what’s expected of them.

Here, they could just...be themselves. Veronica wondered if Chandler really knew how to do that, though.

“So...How long have you two been together? When did you meet?” Veronica finally spoke up, Mac and Duke still staring into each other’s eyes.

Mac turned away and back to Chandler and Veronica, giggling softly. Duke scowled slightly but wrapped her arm around Mac, who pressed herself closer. She looked up at Duke who just nodded at her.

“Okay! I met Heather,” she motioned towards Chandler, “when we were in 1st grade. We found out we had the same name, so we just stuck together. We were just two girls trying to find our soulmate, even if we didn’t know much about it then! Then, in 7th grade, we met Heather.” She leaned a little closer to Duke before turning and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “We didn’t touch for about a week, but as soon as we did...Well, it’s pretty obvious what happened.

“Unfortunately, we had to keep our relationship a secret.” She deflated a little. Duke grabbed her hand and rubbed her finger along her knuckle. The soft touch seemed to be enough for her to continue. “It was hard. We had to hide ourselves. Still do. The only person we could tell was Heather.”

“Our parents don’t even know,” came Duke’s bitter response. Veronica frowned.

“Wait, so how do you pass off your ability to see color to them?”

“A lot of bullshit and absences,” was Duke’s response, and judging by her crossed arms, Veronica knew better than to question her any further on the matter.

“How did you guys act when you realized you were soulmates?” Were they as awkward as she and Chandler were? She chanced a glance at the other girl and saw her sipping at her drink. The two made eye contact and Chandler quickly swallowed before raising an eyebrow at her. Veronica just smiled at her before turning back to Mac and Duke.

“As awkward as you two are. God, it’s infuriating. We weren’t that bad, were we?” Duke looked over at Chandler, who was still staring at Veronica. “Heather. Heather!”

Chandler snapped out of her daze and looked at Duke. “What?” she snapped.

“Nevermind. We were nowhere near as bad as you two are.” She turned back to Veronica. “Anyway, we didn’t officially start dating until high school started. And, well, the rest is history,” Duke finished.

Veronica wasn’t given much time to reflect on that as a few seconds later, their food arrived. She grinned at her spaghetti, though also glanced at everyone else’s food. Mac and Duke shared a dish while Chandler also got her own. Everything looked so expensive. She didn’t even know what any of the other dishes were _called._

She turned back to her spaghetti. This was a safe option. It was something she’d know she liked. You could never go wrong with spaghetti.

The table was silent as the four started eating. Veronica looked up at one point to see Duke mostly just poking at her dish with her fork, hardly any of it eaten. She saw Mac lean over and whisper something in her ear. She didn’t know what she said, but it caused Duke to clench her teeth.

Veronica looked back down at her food and continued to eat. After a moment, the Heathers began to gossip. They talked about this and that, and Veronica wasn’t really able to keep track of it all.

So her thoughts drifted. Mainly to the girl beside her. She peeked a glance at Chandler who was laughing at someone one of the other Heathers had said. It caused a blush to creep up on her cheeks and she quickly looked away.

She thought about their relationship. It had only been a few days, and they were still awkwardly fumbling around each other. She couldn’t wait until they had this all figured out, whenever that would even be. But before then, she’d just have to deal with them both not knowing how to navigate this relationship.

Veronica was almost positive Chandler had never been in a proper relationship. And she hadn’t either. It wasn’t all that common, at least not this early in their life, to date anyone before finding their soulmate. And now that they’ve both found their soulmate, they couldn’t even _tell_ anyone. They had to keep it a secret from everyone except the few people they could trust. She sighed.

“Why do you look so sad, Ronnie? That frown looks terrible on you. Smile. It looks better.” Chandler turned to Veronica, frowning at her. Veronica jumped.

“Oh, uh...sorry. I was just lost in thought,” she murmured, looking down at her hands before looking back up at Chandler. “Though, I could say the same to you. Your smiles always look much better than your frowns.”

Chandler blinked, her mouth hanging open before she snapped it shut, trying and mostly failing to hide back a small smile, a light pink dusting her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Veronica wasn’t the only one to notice the blush as Mac let out an excited squeal not long after. 

_”Anyway._ The bill has been paid, so we need to go. C’mon.” Chandler got out of her seat and Veronica was quick to follow her. The four headed outside. They stood outside the doors, each couple facing the other.

“Thanks for going on a double date with us! It was a lot of fun,” Mac grinned at them. Chandler scoffed and shrugged.

“It was your idea. You practically didn’t even give me a choice.”

Veronica smacked Chandler’s arm lightly before turning to Mac. “It was a lot of fun! Thanks for inviting me here with you guys.” 

After that, the two groups split up. Duke and Mac went into Duke’s Jeep while Chandler led Veronica to her Porsche. They got inside and sat there for a bit.

“So,” Chandler began. “I assume you want to go home, now?” Her hands were tight against the steering wheel and she didn’t look at Veronica. Veronica hummed.

“Actually...I don’t really want this night to end. Maybe we could go to your house?” Veronica looked over at Chandler who turned to look back at her. If Chandler was surprised, she tried her best to hide it. She wasn’t entirely successful, though. 

“Yeah, sure.” Chandler started the car and drove to her house, driving at a pace that was still over the speed limit but not as fast as she usually did. 

A little over an hour later and they arrived at Chandler’s house. She parked and the two went inside. As soon as they made it through the door and she closed it, Chandler grabbed Veronica’s hand and nearly ran upstairs. Veronica wondered if her parents were home.

Chandler knew they were. She also didn’t care. And she knew that her parents didn’t care either.

She closed the door to her room and turned to face Veronica.

Silence reigned in the room for a moment as the two realized they had no idea what to do now.

“So...now what?” Veronica asked. Heather tried to think of something, anything, for them to do.

“We could..,” her voice drifted off and she bit her lip. Veronica chuckled.

Veronica looked around the room, hoping she could find _something_ that the two could do, but all to no avail. “Um…”

“Oh!” Heather’s eyes lit up. “I’m sure neither of us are really hungry, but...something I like to do when I’m bored is bake cookies. Usually I’ll do it with Heather and Heather - Mac _loves_ decorating - but we could just do it with the two of us. ...If you want.”

Veronica smiled at her. “Sure. Though I’m not much of a baker.” She shrugged. “Should be fun, though.” 

The two headed downstairs, Veronica looking around. “Are your parents home?”

“Yeah.”

“Wait, really?”

“Mmhm. But they won’t bother us. They stick to their side of the house, I stick to mine. I hardly ever see them.”

Veronica frowned. “That...seems lonely.”

Heather paused to look at Veronica. She frowned slightly before shrugging. “That’s why I have Heather and Heather. And you, now. Besides, I’m used to it.” She shrugged before continuing and going into the kitchen, where she immediately set to work on getting the ingredients they needed out. 

The two got to work on making the dough and rolling it out. It caused a mess, with Veronica somehow getting absolutely covered in flour. Heather wanted to get upset with her, but every time she looked at Veronica she couldn’t help but let out a snort. That would soon turn into actual laughter, and Veronica would always smile at her. She wanted to immortalize that sound. She wanted Heather to never stop. 

She would do anything for Heather to keep laughing.

Veronica wanted to get flour on Heather’s clothes but was positive she’d kill her for it, so she refrained from doing so. Instead, she just poked Heather’s nose, getting flour to stick to it. Heather rolled her eyes, but even she couldn’t hope back her smile at Veronica’s antics.

Finally, the cookies were shaped and put into the oven. Heather was careful, wearing oven mitts and doing whatever she could to make sure her hands weren’t harmed because “I can’t let anything disrupt the beauty that is my hands, Ronnie.” 

With the cookies now in the oven, they were once more unsure of what to do. Heather only let the awkwardness linger for a minute before she rolled her eyes, grabbed Veronica’s hand, and led her to the couch. They both sat down and Heather turned on the TV, leaving it on at whatever show was last playing. Neither of them were really paying attention, though.

Veronica was leaning into Heather, resting her head on her shoulder. Heather hesitated for a moment before laying her head on Veronica’s.

The two stayed like that until their timer rang, alerting them to the fact that the cookies were done. Heather quickly got up, almost causing Veronica to fall. She grumbled but was quick to follow Heather to the oven, watching as she got her oven mitts on before taking the cookies out. She put them on a rack to let them cool down. 

They looked absolutely amazing, chocolate chips melted into the cookie and the smell was enough for Veronica’s mouth to start watering. As soon as they were cool enough to eat without their tongues burning, and not a second later, they tried them. 

“Holy shit. This is the best cookie I have _ever_ tasted,” Veronica nearly moaned with her mouth full. Heather smirked at her.

“Am I a good baker or what?” she chuckled after swallowing her cookie.

“You’re the best baker, oh my god.” Veronica quickly finished her cookie and reached for another. Heather put all the remaining cookies on a plate, handing one to Veronica with a grin as she saw the outstretched hand, and walked back to the couch. 

She set them down on the coffee table before sitting back on the couch, Veronica quick to settle back beside her in the same position they had been in before. Veronica decided there was no other place she’d rather be than sitting on the couch next to Heather, her head on her shoulder and Heather’s head on her own, with the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies wafting around them.

As time passed, Veronica felt her eyes drooping until she eventually gave in to the warmth that was Heather, and fell asleep. It took Heather a moment to realize Veronica had fallen asleep, but when she did, she couldn’t stop the smile. Now that no one was around or awake to see her, the smile only grew. 

Maybe having Veronica as her soulmate wouldn’t be so bad. Today had certainly gone well. She could only hope there’d be more like it.

With her stomach full of cookies, a warmth pressed against her side, and the soft murmurings coming from the TV, Heather fell asleep as well, still smiling softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> And...I hate to ask for comments but they _are_ rather motivating...and they let me know you like it!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heather and Veronica get ready for the party, but make a quick stop at 7/11 first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this chapter is shorter than the others, but a lot happens so I hope you'll forgive me

“We need to talk about Ram’s homecoming party.”

The three Heathers and Veronica were at the lunch table, talking amongst themselves. A few days had passed since the date, and while things were still slightly awkward between Chandler and Veronica, they were slowly getting better. They’d even managed to hold hands a couple of times, though they could never do so in public. 

Veronica turned from her conversation with Mac and looked over at Chandler. “What about it?” she asked.

“It’ll be your first party with us, so we need to make sure you’re prepared.” 

“Oh. Uh, okay.” Veronica frowned. She wasn’t really looking forward to this party, having never been to one. Unless birthday parties with Martha counted, though she’s fairly certain they didn’t. Chandler opened her mouth, and the lecture began.

“First things first, _don’t_ fuck everything up. This is your chance to prove your part as one of us. Don’t throw up, don’t make an embarrassment of yourself or anyone else, and most importantly: do _not_ let anything slip up about...about us. Got it?” Chandler’s piercing blue eyes bore down on Veronica, and she gulped.

“Yup,” her voice came out as a squeak. She cleared her throat. “Got it.”

“Good.”

The rules seemed simple enough...but life has a funny way of making everything go wrong. She just had to hope it wouldn’t be too bad.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. Veronica found herself both looking forward to and dreading the party. Mostly dreading.

As soon as the last bell rang, Veronica rushed over to Chandler’s car to meet her there. They’d get ready together while Mac and Duke got ready at Duke’s house, then meet up at the party. 

They were silent as Heather drove them to her house. Once they arrived, they both got out of the car and made their way inside and up to Heather’s room. 

The air was tense, and Veronica couldn’t name why. She was nervous about the party, certainly. Was Heather also nervous? She glanced at her. It was hard to tell, she was always good at hiding her emotions. Veronica barely bit back a sigh.

Heather bit her lip as she thought about the party. She’d never tell anyone, but she _was_ nervous about the party. A lot of things could go wrong. But Veronica had to prove herself as a Heather, and that meant going to this party. At least it wasn’t a Remington party. She repressed a shudder in thinking about the Remington parties. They’d have to work their way up to getting Veronica to one of those.

But for now, Heather had to get Veronica ready for _this_ party. She instructed her to sit down at her vanity before setting about work on applying her makeup.

“Y’know, I could’ve done my makeup myse—”

“And today I’m doing it. Now shut up.” Veronica sighed but did as she was told. As Heather started to apply her makeup, Veronica found her face starting to heat up again. She tried to hold it off but judging by Heather’s eye roll, she had noticed.

“Are you really going to do this every time I do this?”

“Depends. How often are you going to be doing this?”

“Maybe I won’t do it at all after this.”

“Maybe. Or maybe you just don’t want to admit that you like being this close to me.” Veronica grinned at Heather as she finished the lipstick. Heather narrowed her eyes and grunted.

“Yeah, right.” She pulled away, Veronica’s makeup now complete. Veronica missed her close proximity. “Come on, it’s time to go.”

She stood, grabbed Veronica’s hand, and headed to her car. She allowed herself to think about how nice Veronica’s hand felt in hers. It was soft, and she found herself wishing she could hold it more often. 

Heather quickly shook that thought away as they got to her car. She, albeit a little reluctantly, dropped Veronica’s hand as she got into the car.

After a couple of minutes into the drive, Heather spoke. “We’re making a stop at 7/11. We need corn nuts.”

“Corn nuts? Who even eats those?” Veronica questioned, an eyebrow raised.

“I do, dumbass. It’s not a party without corn nuts. Now get in there.” They had arrived at the nearest 7/11 and Heather parked, looking over at Veronica. 

“Alright, alright, I’m going in.” Veronica got out of the car, heading to the inside of the 7/11. She opened the door to the entrance before pausing and looking back. “BQ or plain?”

“ _BQ!!!_ ” Heather screamed, causing Veronica to startle. She turned back to the door and stepped in, looking at all the aisles and trying to find the one filled with snacks. She scoured the rows to find the corn nuts. When she found them, she grabbed a pack and turned to head to the counter, only to find someone already there. The person turned to look at her.

He was tall, but not drastically so. Dressed in all black - a trenchcoat, even - with short black hair. She’d seen him around school a couple of times, though she’d yet to talk to even. She didn’t even know his name.

“Greetings and salutations.” He grinned at her, and she had to fight off a blush. She already had a soulmate, dammit! She narrowed her eyes at him slightly.

“Hi.”

“You want a slurpee with that?” It was only then that Veronica noticed he was holding his own slurpee, and drinking from it on occasion. Every time he did, he’d wince slightly, pressing a finger to his head, until the moment passed.

She was slightly wary of him, but also curious. On the one hand, she had to get back to Heather so they could go to the party. But on the other...surely talking to him wouldn’t hurt? “Sure,” she answered, eyeing him. His grin seemed to grow bigger.

“I knew you’d see reason. Cherry or lime?” he asked as he headed to the slurpee machine.

“Cherry.” She watched as he went about getting her drink. “By the way, my name is Veronica. You ever gonna tell me yours?”

He turned around, now holding her drink. “I’ll end the suspense. I’m Jason Dean, JD for short.” He held out her drink and she took it. Their fingers brushed, lightly, but she didn’t think anything of it.

At least, not until she heard a gasp from JD. She looked over at him, her confusion increasing as she noticed his expression as he looked around. He was also wincing, much the same as before. But this time it seemed different. She frowned.

“Uh, JD?”

“Never thought I’d actually see color. But I guess that’s what happens when you travel a lot. More opportunities to meet your soulmate.” He grinned at her. “Never thought it’d be you.”

As soon as she heard the word “soulmate,” she jerked back away from him, eyes wide. This couldn’t be right. JD couldn’t be her soulmate. She already _has_ a soulmate! Heather Chandler is her soulmate!

JD seemed to notice her confusion as he stopped grinning, his expression morphing into a frown. “Veronica?” The word seemed to snap her out of her stupor, because she began backing away, her fingers shaking slightly. Her drink slipped out of her grip and fell to the floor, spilling the red liquid everywhere.

“T-this can’t be right...I already _have_ a soulmate..,” she whispered. She wasn’t even sure if JD had heard her, but judging from his expression, he had. 

Heather decided to honk her car then. Veronica jumped before she turned and ran out the door and to the car.

“Veronica, wait!” JD ran after her after setting his drink down. Veronica ignored him, instead opening the car door and practically crawling in. Heather turns to her and raises an eyebrow, but Veronica just shakes her head, looking out at JD as he watches them. She feels as if she’s bursting with the desire to...do something. She almost turns and kisses Heather then and there, but she holds herself back.

If she kissed Heather in front of JD...who knows what he’d do. She can’t risk Heather’s reputation like that. 

“Drive.”

“What?”

“Just….drive. ...Please.” Veronica refused to look at Heather, still looking out at JD who looked both heartbroken and absolutely furious. She wanted to look away, to close her eyes, but she just couldn’t bring herself to. Not until Heather backed up and drove away.

It was silent in the car as they headed to the party. After a couple minutes of driving, Veronica spoke up. “Pull over.”

“What?” Heather asked, incredulous.

“Just...please pull over.”

Heather frowns but she does as Veronica asks, pulling over to the side and parking the car. She turns to Veronica. “What’s your damage?”

Veronica doesn’t give herself any time to think about how bad of an idea this is before she’s leaning forward, holding the sides of Heather’s face and kissing her. Heather seems shocked at first but she soon kisses her back. It’s fierce, and fueled with some desire to...she doesn’t know. Neither of them do. She just know she doesn’t want this to stop.

Eventually, they pull away, chests heaving. It’s silent. Neither of them know what to do. Heather clears her throat.

“Was that...a hint of cherry?” She licks her lips slightly. Veronica just nods.

Neither of them say anything more as Heather puts the car out of park and continues to drive to the party. Veronica leans her head against the window, thinking about the kiss but also still seeing JD’s expression in her mind as they drove away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed that chapter! Also, I'm going to be working on an actual update schedule which is...unusual for me. But I really like this fic and I'd love to see it completed!! I am going to be uploading every other Saturday until, hopefully, this thing gets finished. I honestly may miss a few weeks, but...I'm gonna do my best lmao
> 
> Comments are incredibly motivating! You don't have to leave one, but if you want to, I'd really appreciate it...


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